FALLOUT [Index One - Part Two]

Chapter Five

Kate sighed, resting her head against her arms, tired.

She was up to her neck in deceit.

Not only had she lied to Arinoi about her reason for being gone, but she had to continue to pretend that she was just as clueless as the rest of the guards as to the next heir. Which is easier said than done, as it turns out. Steering them away from leads and towards red herrings was getting tiresome. 

In addition, she'd placed herself in charge of finding places to stay. The only problem with this was that people got suspicious if two or three guards stayed in a city for a night for no reason. It was even worse with six. And since the population was reasonably easy to terrify, there was no way she was going to repeatedly explain that oh yes, we have no clue who the next monarch will be, and it's extremely possible for all of you to die at a moment's notice if the heir passes away, thank you for asking. 

Instead of letting rumours spread, she'd simply used the excuse of making sure the inns were acceptable for holding increased capacity of travellers. There was going to be a coronation at some point, after all - just not as recently as the innkeepers would expect. Still, it made her feel better to not obscure the entire truth.

Nonetheless, it did get tiring. Which is why her reflexes were slower than normal, and why it took her much longer than she'd liked to notice the cloaked and hooded figure that had taken the seat beside her. They made eye contact with the barkeep, calmly motioning what they wanted. He nodded and left, leaving the two alone.

Kate studied them through the hair that had fallen over her eyes, breathing steadily. No other chairs had been taken, and she was sitting on the edge. So she pretended to be asleep, watching them carefully.

She didn't trust them as far as she could throw them. Which was fairly far, considering their small stature and order of simply water - they weren't trying to show off. She could take them in a fight, probably. Instinctively, she calculated how long it would take for her to grab the blade strapped to her thigh and run away. 

"You're absolutely horrible at faking unconsciousness, you know that, right?" 

Kate flinched. She knew that voice.

A pair of familiar eyes found hers, crinkling at the edges playfully. "How long have you been keeping up this charade?" Arinoi smirked.

Kate grumbled, turning her face towards the floor in order to hide her smile. She had been desperate to see someone she knew other than the guards. Had Arinoi seen her dumb grin, she would have picked up on it immediately, and held it over her for a solid month or two. Because Arinoi was perceptive and boastful, which worked out well for her in a way only she could pull off.

"Shut up." Kate regained control of her face and forced a frown, now setting her chin against her forearm as she pursed her lips. "About a week and a half." 

"Mmm." Arinoi hummed, quietly thanking the barkeeper with a nod and a smile. She traced her finger around the rim. "Is that long enough for you?"

She shut her eyes. "That's a question you should answer."

"...Seems long enough for me."

Kate, stunned, tensed and turned to her. "What?"

She shrugged. "Let them find me."

"Ari-"

"Elle helped me consider everything. I'm ready." Kate didn't answer. She couldn't. Her voice wasn't working at the moment. "Either way, you didn't have to do this for me." She fished some gold coins out of her pocket, placing them on the counter next to the empty glass before standing and turning away. "And I know someone that really misses you."

Rolling her eyes, Kate finally found words. "Please. You wouldn't miss me if-"

"Well, first of all, I meant Jack," Arinoi muttered, turning away. "And you really think I wouldn't miss you? That I didn't?"

"...I sort of assumed..." She trailed off.

"Yeah, well..." She shrugged. "Not very queenly of me to not care about people, now, is it?"

Before Kate could agree or disagree or add something, Arinoi was gone. 

A small smile crossed Kate's face. It made her a little happy to know - or at least have an idea - that Arinoi was going to at least try to be a good queen.